Pokhara-bound!

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DAILY AUDIO UPDATE

Charlie Miller

You wouldn’t normally think 74 miles (119 km) by car would make for a daylong trip. Unless you are driving down a mountain in Nepal, that is! The return trip from Nangi village to Pokhara was as exciting, if not more so, than the way there. This time, we were facing challenging conditions that recent rains had wreaked — turning the steep clay road into a slide. As the Bolero slid and danced down the deeply rutted roadway, Aaron, Chitra, Matthew, and Charlie decided to bail out of the truck and walk until the vehicle was on firmer foundation. Once it was, we climbed back aboard and the Bolero continued its crawl down the mountain to the community of Beni.

We enjoyed a quick lunch in Beni and then were off to Pokhara, the third largest city in Nepal. With a population of about 265,000, Pokhara is a popular tourist destination as three of the ten highest mountains in the world — Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, and Manaslu — are within 30 miles of the city. It offers a spectacular view of the high Himalayas and serves as a gateway for many climbers and adventurers.

Driving into Pokahara was like a chess game between drivers, cows, and pedestrians. Interestingly, there is a unique language between drivers, who use horns and lights to note when vehicles should or should not pass each other, or to alert others when a vehicle is coming around a corner. It is thus never a relaxing ride, as the air seems always filled with car horns, but the stress of the road is eased somewhat by the beauty of the surrounding landscape.

Tomorrow we are up early and off to visit a farm outside the city and spend time interviewing local residents. Stay tuned for more Earthducation!